Automatic circuit-breaker.



N0.6s3,772. Ptented sept. 26, |899. e. wmGHT & c. AALBORG.

UTMATIC ClRCUlT BREKER.

(Application filed Mar, 23, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet (No Model.)

,l ...a M -WW i 3 an 0 Z No. 633,772. Patented sept. 26,1899.

G. wmaHT & c. AALBoRG.

AUTOMATIC CIRCUIT BREAKER.

(Application fxled Mar. 23, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2,

@Zigi /TNESSES /N VEA/Tops www M .@mg i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

GILBERT VRIGHT AND Cl'lRlSTL/'XN AALBORG, OF VILKINSBURG, PENNSYL- VANIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE WESTINGHCUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, OF PENNSYLVANA.

AUTOMATIC CIRCUIT-BREAKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,772, dated September 26, 1899.

Application filed MaI-eli 23, 1899. Serial No. 710,225. (No model.)

To all w'to'lit it nw/y concer/t.'

Be it known that we, GILBERT VRIGH'I and CHRISTIAN AALBORG, citizens of the United States, residing at Vilkinsbui-g, in the county 5 of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvaniadiave invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Circuit-Breakers, (Case No. 810,) of which the following is a speciiication.

Our invention relates to devices employed ro for automatically opening electric circuits upon the passage therethrough of a current materially in excess of that which the circuit is intended to carry.

The object oi our invention is to provide a I 5 circuit-breaker that shall have a large current-carrying capacity in proportion to the mechanical dimensions of the device, which shall be easily broughtinto operative position and locked therein, which shall be certainly zo and quickly opened whenever the current in the circuit exceeds that for which the locking mechanism is set, and which shall serve to interrupt the circuit without danger of injury to the main contact terminals. The

2 5 means for accomplishing these results are disclosed in the accompanying drawings and will noW be described.

Figure l of vthe drawings is a side elevation of the circuit-breaker in closed position; Fig.

3o 2, a detail sectional view ol' a portion of the circuit-breaker; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the circuit-breaker in open position, pa rts being, however, broken away and others in section in order to more clearly show the de- 3'5 tails of construction; and Fig. et, a front elevation of the entire structure on a reduced scale.`

The supporting-base l may be of any dimensions and of any material, but ordinarily 4e it will be a switchboard panel of marble,

slate, or similar material. The main stationary contact-terminals 2 and of the circuitbreaker are provided with'studs et, which project from the front to the rear through holes bored in the base for connection with the busbars, asis usual inswitchboard construction. The upper stationary contact-terminal 2 is elongated upwardly and is provided with a block 5 of carbon or other substantially in- 50 fusible conducting material, a metal plate 6 being mounted upon and fastened to the front ofthe main terminal 2, so as to be iiush with the face ot the carbon block and therefore constitute a continuation of it. The lower stationary contact-terminal is partially su r- 5 5 rounded by a body of magnetizable metal T. Two metal brackets S are bolted to the base either upon or adjacentto the lower stationary terminal 3 and the body of magnetizable material 7 in order to serve as supports for te the movable parts of the circuit-breaker. rlhese brackets may obviously be joined by a base-plate, the three parts constituting a single casting.

The main movable contact member t) of the 65 circuit-breaker consists of a body of thin copper plates of curved :form riveted or other wise fastened together, but having free ends which are beveled with reference to the body portions ol' the laminar, so that when the eir- 7o cuit-breaker is closed or nearly closed they are in a plane that coincides with or is parallel with the plane of the faces of the station ary contact-terminals 2 and 3. A thicker plate l0 ol greater length than any ol' the 75 main laminze is riveted to said main laminze and is of such form and dimensions that its upper end makes contact with the plate 6 on the face of the upper stationary contact-terminal 2 when the circuit-breaker is closed, 8o and its lower end is permanently in engagement with the face of terminal 3. The member 0 is rigidly fastened by any suitable means, such as bolts or rivets, to the upper end of a supporti11g-frame ll, the lower end 85 of such frame being` bifurcated and pivoted between the brackets S at l2. Pivoted between the arms of frame ll is one arm 13 of a toggledever li, the other arm l5 of such lever being part of a casting 1G, which is pro 9o vided with an operating-handle 1G. The cast ing lG is mounted upon rodlG", which is supported by the ou ter ends of brackets S. The arms 13 and 15 of the toggle-lever l-lare se located and proportioned with reference to 95 the brush-contact member and the contactterminals 2 and 3 that the former will be brought to its closed or operative position by a degree of movement that falls alittle short of bringing the centers of the three pivot-s ot' roo the toggle-lever into alinement; this adjustment being desirable in order that when thc movable member of the breaker is released the toggle-joint may act readily and quickly under the action of the opening means to be hereinafter described.

rllhe movable shunt-contact member comprises a block 17 ol' carbon or other substantially infusible conducting material mounted ina suitable metal frame 18 and having` a metal plate 1Q, the tace ot which constitutes a continuation of the Face of the infusiblc block 17, so as to engage with the face ot' the plate t5 on the stationary terminal when the circuit-breaker is closed. 'lhis trame l5, car rying the infusible block 17, is pivoted between two arms 20, a spring' 21 being fastened to said frame and extending downward, so as to bear against a cross-piece or other suitable stop 22, and thus tend to throw the upper end ot' the block 17 inward slightly toward the cooperating stationary bloc 5. The two arms 2t) are pivoted to the upper end of the frame 11 at a point corresponding to the middle of the member t) and project downward beyond this point to corresponding points between the pivot 12 and the point at which the toggie-lever arm 1S is pivoted to frame 1l. The free ends ot arms 2O are connected by coiled springs 2.5 to lugs or ears it, projecting from casting 16.

The metal plate 1t), forming part of the movable shuntlcontact tcrminahhas fastened to it by means ot screws or rivets one end of a flexible strip or the ends of a plurality ot such strips 25, which extend downward and are electrically and mechanically joined to the brush-contact member tl. The frame 11 is provided with a plug 111L and a spring 1lb, so that when the circuitvbreaker is thrown open the plug will strike against a piece ltiC on the casting 16.

1n order to lock the circuit-tweaker in closed position and to release the same when the current therethrough exceeds a predetermined amount, we provide the following de- Vices: The toggle-lever arm 13 is provided with an extension 13, substantially at right angles to its main portion, in the end ot' which is journaled a small roller 26, adapted to be engaged by the notched end ot' a latch 27, the latter being pivotally mounted upon the shaft orpivot 12. Mounted upon the pivot or shaft 12, so as to move independently of the other parts already described, is a frame 2S, carrying at its upper end an armature 2) and at its lower end two upwardly-projecting portions 30 and 31, the former of which terminates adjacent to the latch above its pivot and the other adjacent to the lower end of the latch. These projections 30 and 31 are of such length that there is a slight degree of movcment possible independently ot the latch in order that the latter may be given a blow when the frame 2S is tilted by magnetic action. The base portion 2Sn of the frame 28 is titl, which is adj ust-able by means ot a screw lil and thumb-nut 35. '.lhc inner end of the screw il rests against a rod .'16, that projects through the basc-plate 1, the end of such rod at the rear ol' the base-plate 1 being pivoted to one end of an arm 37, the said arm being pivoted at or substantially atits middle point to a suitable supjjiorting-bracket 11S and having pivotally connected toits other end a rod 219, which also projects through an opening in the base-plate 1. The front end of the rod 39 is provided with a push-button 1:0, that is normally forced outward by means of a coiled spring t1.

The operation otl the circuit-tweaker is as follows: Assuming that the breaker is in open position, arms 2O will be held against the stops 20 on l'rame 11 by the coiled springs 23, and the other parts will be in the position indica-ted in Fig. 3. The operator will now grasp the handle and press downward upon it, thus moving the toggle-joint upward and at the same time carrying the laminated contact member inward toward the stationary terminals, the shunt-terminal and its supporting-arms being carried with the laminated contact member, so that the shunt-terminals will be first brought into engagement, and thereafter the movable terminal will slide on the stationary terminal, and thus tend to keep it clean and make good contact. As the movement is continued until the toggle-lever pivots are brought nearly into alinement, both the shunt-terminals and thc main terminals will be brought into close engagement, the ends of the lamime of the latter being deflected sufficiently to make goed contact with the 'faces ot the terminal blocks. When this nal position is reached, the frame 28 and its weight acting through the projection 211 on the lowerend oi' the latch 27 will cause the notched end of the latter to engage the roller 2G, and thus hold the parts in this locked position. 1f the current through the circuit-tweaker exceeds the amount for which it is set by the adjustment of the weight 33 in its frame, such current will produce a magnetic flux through the body 7 of magnetizable material, which will have sufficient strength to draw the armature 29 inward and downward. lVhen this action'takes place, the projection 30 on the l'rameQS strikes against the latch and throws its recessed or notched end upward away from the rollerG, whereupon the coiled springs 23 will throw the toggle-joint downward and, supplemented by the action ot' gravity,will throw the circuit-breaker completely open. The laminated contact inem- 'bcr will obviously ilrst leave the stationary terminal Hence the current willbe shunted through the strips 1.0 and 95 and the carbon blocks, the final interruption heilig cffected by the separation of the blocks. By reason of interrupting the circuit at a single point-thatis, making a single break and locating that break above the main terminalsprovided with a scale 32 and with a weight t the resulting arcs cannot by any possibility IOO do any damage to the circuit-breaker, they i being broken upward at a single point and away from all of the metal parts of the dcvice.

We desire it to be understood that our invention is not limited to any specific form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

IV e claim as our inventionl. In an automatic electric-circuit breaker, the combination with a pair of main stationary contact-terminals and a carbon shunt-terminal in approximately vertical alinement, of a pivoted laminated contact member for bridging said main terminals, toggle-levers for moving said laminated contact member into operative position, a movable shunt contact-piece, and a supporting-arm therefor pivoted to the laminated Contact member.

2, In an automatic electric-circuit breaker, the combination with a base and stationary main and shunt contact-terminals located in approximately vertical alinement thereon, ot' a movable laminated Contact member pivoted to said base, a movable shunt-contact member pivoted to said laminated contact member, toggle-levers foroperating said movable members, means for locking the breaker Vin closed position, and a tripping device projecting into a magnetic circuit.

3. In an automatic electric-circuit breaker, the combination with a base provided with a pair of main contact-terminals in approximately vertical alinement and a single shunt- Contact terminal above the upper main terminal, of a bridging laminated contact member pivoted to the base, a movable shunt contact-terminal, a supporting-arm therefor pivoted to the laminated contact member, a ilexible extension-piece for making permanent contact with the lower stationary terminal, toggle-lever supporting and operating mochanism vl'or said movable members, locking an d tripping devices and means cooperating with gravity to open the breaker when released.

4. A circuit-breaker having two stationary main contact-terminals anda carbon shunt contact-terminal located above said main terminals, in combination with a pivotallymounted main Contact member and a shunt member eccentrically pivoted to said main member, toggle-lever-closing mechanism, a latch and electromagnetic means 'for tripping said latch when subjected to an excessive current.

In a circuit-breaker, the combination with main stationary contact-terminals and a stationary shunt-terminal located above the same, of a pivoted main contact member, a shunt-contact member pivoted to said main member at a distance from its axis of movement, means for yieldingly holding the movable shunt-contact in a position in advance of the plane of the faces of the main movable member when in open position, toggle-lever mechanism for closing the breaker, a latch and electromagnetically-actuated means for tripping the latch, said toggle-lever, latching and tripping mechanism being located below both the main andA the shunt separable terminals.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names this 17th day of March, 1899.

GILBERT XVRIGI'IT. CHRISTIAN AAIIBORG.

Witnesses:

H. C. TENER, Wnsnnv G. GARR. 

